Sorry to hear of the problems with the S4. I've recently bought a late 2011 S4 sedan... and almost to scared to ask what the problems were...

regards

Just think maybe it had a hard life, Was ex Queenstown so maybe ski field trips/gravel roads.. Everything was pretty well worn lots of maintenance stuff, brakes way past what I would let them get, exhaust flex joints long past it expiry date (wire was actually frayed and could see its internals), headlight faults, indicator faults, alignment out all worn on the insides probably due to the lowered springs, was getting CEL codes on the secondary air pump (wires were corroded and shorting out), temp sensors bla bla bla. Add to it the Cam chains and torque converter had also been done recently it had a small (well large) fortune spent on it.Did try to reach out via VASK to the place that last serviced it since they are a member and and was only a short period of time since last service, but they never replied.

The dealer was willing to fix it all but I not a patient person at the best of times and didn't have the time to muck round swapping cars out while it went back and forth getting fixed each time. Its still for sale and the last time I was at the dealers picking up some paperwork it was back in for something else to be fixed..

Warning to anyone looking don't touch it!

I do now have the performance itch that needs scratched so currently looking at importing a B8 S4 Avant

Just think maybe it had a hard life, Was ex Queenstown so maybe ski field trips/gravel roads.. Everything was pretty well worn lots of maintenance stuff, brakes way past what I would let them get, exhaust flex joints long past it expiry date (wire was actually frayed and could see its internals), headlight faults, indicator faults, alignment out all worn on the insides probably due to the lowered springs, was getting CEL codes on the secondary air pump (wires were corroded and shorting out), temp sensors bla bla bla. Add to it the Cam chains and torque converter had also been done recently it had a small (well large) fortune spent on it.Did try to reach out via VASK to the place that last serviced it since they are a member and and was only a short period of time since last service, but they never replied.

The dealer was willing to fix it all but I not a patient person at the best of times and didn't have the time to muck round swapping cars out while it went back and forth getting fixed each time. Its still for sale and the last time I was at the dealers picking up some paperwork it was back in for something else to be fixed..

Warning to anyone looking don't touch it!

I do now have the performance itch that needs scratched so currently looking at importing a B8 S4 Avant

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. It does sound like a problem car which had done a reasonable number of kilometres I expect? While I do like the Audi S and RS cars I don't think I could live with their maintenance bills as the kilometres get up there. Mind you a lot of new cars today are probably the same with so much tech in them.

To get my S4 I traded in my late 2005 B7 A4 3.2 Avant. I liked that car a lot but it was a little small and the mileage had just gone over 160,000km. The silly little issues were starting and I decided to trade it on something a bit bigger. After test driving the S4 I had to have it. It only had 33,000km on the clock and I was able to get a silver circle warranty on it to ease my concerns of the weird (and expensive) German foibles the cars seem to have. It does go well but the suspension is not really built for NZ roads and the 19" wheels don't help that.... but it looks the part.

A bit more about my B8 S4...I traded my A4 3.2 Avant for the S4 sedan in November last year. A 5 year old car with 33K on the clock, finished in Monsoon Grey. I'm not sure what was standard on these S4's here but the 19" wheels seem like they might be an optional upgrade, as is the B&O sound system. It has the MMI down by the gear selector and has navigation. No sports diff but it has the drive select option for the engine, gearbox and steering. I was also offered a Silver Circle warranty and gladly took it.

Problems to date.... It has fallen foul of the silliness that can occur with the sensors on the bonnet release, causing the MMI to tell you it has no oil (or whatever the bottom of the scale is trying to tell you). Oh to have a real dip stick... The B&O upgrade had a sting in the tail in that this option screws you up if you need top tether fixing for child's car seats. The parcel shelf isn't structural enough to try to mount anything in. Pity this wasn't pointed out by the salesman as we were talking about wanting to put children car seats in this car. I don't know why Audi don't fit Avant seats as part of the upgrade as these have the fixings in the back of the rear seat... Something to wary of. The dealer did manage to fit a tether low down on the back of one of the seats and this has meant we can use the child's seat we needed.

The car certainly has a lot of get up an go, but it does have quite a firm ride (worse than my workmates RS6 Performance on 21" wheels!), and the steering does track with the bumps more than I expected. 18' wheels might be a better option for the varied NZ road surfaces with this car. The tyres are Dunlop's SP Sport Maxx and they don't like big puddles lying on the road in heavy rain. I will be changing to Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 3's when the Dunlop's have worn out. I had the 2's on the old Audi and liked the tyre.

A bit more about my B8 S4...I traded my A4 3.2 Avant for the S4 sedan in November last year. A 5 year old car with 33K on the clock, finished in Monsoon Grey. I'm not sure what was standard on these S4's here but the 19" wheels seem like they might be an optional upgrade, as is the B&O sound system. It has the MMI down by the gear selector and has navigation. No sports diff but it has the drive select option for the engine, gearbox and steering. I was also offered a Silver Circle warranty and gladly took it.

Problems to date.... It has fallen foul of the silliness that can occur with the sensors on the bonnet release, causing the MMI to tell you it has no oil (or whatever the bottom of the scale is trying to tell you). Oh to have a real dip stick... The B&O upgrade had a sting in the tail in that this option screws you up if you need top tether fixing for child's car seats. The parcel shelf isn't structural enough to try to mount anything in. Pity this wasn't pointed out by the salesman as we were talking about wanting to put children car seats in this car. I don't know why Audi don't fit Avant seats as part of the upgrade as these have the fixings in the back of the rear seat... Something to wary of. The dealer did manage to fit a tether low down on the back of one of the seats and this has meant we can use the child's seat we needed.

The car certainly has a lot of get up an go, but it does have quite a firm ride (worse than my workmates RS6 Performance on 21" wheels!), and the steering does track with the bumps more than I expected. 18' wheels might be a better option for the varied NZ road surfaces with this car. The tyres are Dunlop's SP Sport Maxx and they don't like big puddles lying on the road in heavy rain. I will be changing to Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 3's when the Dunlop's have worn out. I had the 2's on the old Audi and liked the tyre.

Fingers crossed the tech in the car keeps going as designed....

Congrats on the purchase! I've had a fair share of issues with my NZ NEW B8 S4 Avant when I first purchased it, so if you ever do run into some issues happy to lend an ear and advice as I probably have gone through it all- Stronic gearbox- Mechatronics unit- Coolant leaking- Door locks jamming

Good thing you have the silver circle warranty, far better than thew aftermarket ones as the maximum claim value is a larger sum

Finally got my suspension, BBK and a few other bits in from Ben's B8 S4 super saloon

Went in for a cert last week and failed onWheel bolts 5 and a half turns, requirements 6 and a half turns <-- lololololBolts of front floating rotors need to have 2mm of thread showing in the rear <--- lolololol as the bolts were flush on the hat Annnnnd camber needs to be dialed to 0!!!!!!

Here I was thinking that I was going fail on rubbing, to low, s**t setup brakes to big blahblahblah lolololo

Anyways, super happy with how this S4 has turned out after a few hiccups over the first year of ownership

Congrats on the purchase! I've had a fair share of issues with my NZ NEW B8 S4 Avant when I first purchased it, so if you ever do run into some issues happy to lend an ear and advice as I probably have gone through it all- Stronic gearbox- Mechatronics unit- Coolant leaking- Door locks jamming

Good thing you have the silver circle warranty, far better than thew aftermarket ones as the maximum claim value is a larger sum

Sad to hear you have had problems from new... It shouldn't really happen given the price paid for new S vehicles, or even the standard models...

Thanks for the offer of advice 'when' I strike issues...

I'm starting to think a nice old HQ wagon might be the ideal simple vehicle... that I could even work on to boot!

Finally got my suspension, BBK and a few other bits in from Ben's B8 S4 super saloon

Went in for a cert last week and failed onWheel bolts 5 and a half turns, requirements 6 and a half turns <-- lololololBolts of front floating rotors need to have 2mm of thread showing in the rear <--- lolololol as the bolts were flush on the hat Annnnnd camber needs to be dialed to 0!!!!!!

Here I was thinking that I was going fail on rubbing, to low, s**t setup brakes to big blahblahblah lolololo

Anyways, super happy with how this S4 has turned out after a few hiccups over the first year of ownership

Latest project wanted a nice sunny day cruzer with plenty of torque 4 wheel drive which I could pop the roof and drive. I ended up with a rare in NZ A4 s-line 3.0 Tdi Convertbile tiptronic low k's in nice condition. Plan to remap to increase torque to around 550 NM and have a user friendly car, well under 16k.

Congrats on the purchase! I've had a fair share of issues with my NZ NEW B8 S4 Avant when I first purchased it, so if you ever do run into some issues happy to lend an ear and advice as I probably have gone through it all- Stronic gearbox- Mechatronics unit- Coolant leaking- Door locks jamming

Good thing you have the silver circle warranty, far better than thew aftermarket ones as the maximum claim value is a larger sum

What issues with the doors? I've had to replace 3 of mine so far...and looking like the drivers side starting to stick.

That pic is pre tints in the showroom, I've since had cambelt waterpump service done, transmission service and other bits and pieces to baseline the maintenance program. I'm thinking next mish will be a down pipe and tune. More focussed on reduction of exhaust gas temp to prolong the life of the turbo than gains in hp although apparently these can pump it up to around 260hp+

Think i saw you today driving around the bays? Your plate VRSPRG? or similar??

The addition of the cat delete pipes massively opens bottom end torque delivery and give the car a much better power curve across the range, better throttle control via a linear throttle spread and better off the line drive..

Exhaust

A full exhaust system from Milltek will consist of cat delete pipes and a cat back combined … Depending on the level of sound your after we’d recommend the non-center resonated cat back they sound by far the best – the resonated center set up is a bit too quiet for most, especially if you really want to hear it bark when you’re on the gas, conversely when just cruising about on light throttle the system is very compliant. .

Intake We have used the EVOMS brand on S4’s in the past and find they are a great fit, look good, add a nice front-end growl and importantly they hugely aid throttle response.